Georgia Native? Is there such a thing? (Atlanta, Savannah: home, hospital)

[TakeAhike]

My roots grow deep in the red clay of Georgia on both sides of my family.

Boomer myself--indigenous to the metro Atlanta area. Progress--that what I grew up with and we have 'outdone' ourselves. LOL.

I enjoy living here. Just hope something can be done to conserve resources, ASAP.

bhs

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by marysally

I am a native of Atlanta -- born at Crawford Long Hospital. My mother's house was one block from the corner of Lindbergh Drive and Acorn Ave. and I graduated from North Fulton High which is now Atlanta International School. My parents met at Druid Hills High School where my father played on a 7? man football team. School was so small that they couldn't field a regulation sized team. I no longer live in Atlanta but still have relatives there and visit often. I am amazed and appalled at what has happened to my home town.

I was born at Crawford Long, too.

My parents lived near Grady High School when they first married.

Moved to the 'burbs--Briarcliff Road in the '50's.

Consider myself very fortunate to have grown up here when there was a less hectic pace and I believe in preservation and conservation.

LOL--North Carolina is the place to be---anyone contemplating moving to the SE.

bhs

[EuharleeRiverRat]

Born and raised in Georgia. Been here all my life. Seen a lot of changes over the years, but I'm here to say, where I come from the south is very much alive. We still say beans, maters, taters, naners, okre, unyun{onion}, and it ant yellow, it's yeller. LOL Yep! back-wooded country and proud of it. And I ant poking fun at nobody, So smile

[mdiggs1]

5th generation Georgian right here. I am a native of Claxton, Georgia now living in Atlanta. My mother was born in Wayne County, Georgia; My grandmother in Tattnall county, Georgia. My great-grandmother in Tattnall County. My great-great-grandmother was born to slave parents in 1874 in the same area of south east Georgia. My great-great-great-grandmother she may have been a native Georgian also but I'm not 100% sure, that's why I stopped at 5th generation.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by mdiggs1

5th generation Georgian right here. I am a native of Claxton, Georgia now living in Atlanta. My mother was born in Wayne County, Georgia; My grandmother in Tattnall county, Georgia. My great-grandmother in Tattnall County. My great-great-grandmother was born to slave parents in 1874 in the same area of south east Georgia. My great-great-great-grandmother she may have been a native Georgian also but I'm not 100% sure, that's why I stopped at 5th generation.

Claxton is the place to go for fruitcakes.

The small towns are interesting--nobody grows onions like Vidalia. Isn't that somewhere near Claxton--middle/south Georgia?

Haven't been that way in a while.

bhs

[small town south]

Yep, born in Porterdale, GA. Just read the other day that a woman with name "Georgia" most likely lives in GA. That applies to me. (I truly hate when I'm part of a statistical truth!) At any rate, moved up to New England for awhile and have returned to retire. Actually living in New England is alot like living down south as far as small town life goes. Just a minor difference (!!!) in weather and food Glad to be back on home turf.

[Dixie Dawg]

If you want to find a bunch, and I mean a bunch of native Georgians, travel below the Macon line to South Georgia. There are people who have families who have lived here for generations. They may have moved to a different house, but they still live in the same county. In addition, you will find the Old South in South Georgia. Families are very tightly-knit down here.

This is the group who drives big pick-up trucks, loves to deer hunt and fish, attend fish fries and family reunions and who love their mommas! (And I mean this sincerely, not poking fun!)

There are a lot of trees down here, lots of land, plenty of room to roam without being up against neighbors. Most importantly, there is peace and quiet. People live a much slower pace of life, will speak to strangers on the street and love country cooking. Church members will bring you jars of jelly or pickles they have just canned.

I am originally from Augusta, lived in Jacksonville, Florida for six years and moved here to be near familiy. Now, to be perfectly honest, this is so different from Augusta and Florida, that it was quite a culture shock for a while. I admit, there have been times I haven't been too happy in South Georgia because it's so different. It is not fast-paced or aggressive, and neither are the people. However, my husband (who is from Texas) and I have learned to be content down here. We began to count the pros instead of looking at the cons and the pros have won:

Pros:

1. Lots of woods which equals peace and quiet.

2. Not much traffic, especially compared to the larger cities.

3. Very little crime.

4. People truly don't bother you down here. They stay to themselves.

5. Much less stress down here. No one is in a hurry.

6. Business owners are more down-to-earth.

7. People still serve God, respect the flag and love their families.

I've been down here for two years now and we had truly planned to move somewhere else, but now we realize how much better off we are living here than living in a large town. I'm now at peace down here, and, there's a lot to be said for peace.

So, if you're looking for a slow pace of life, a lot less stress - and the Old South, you'll find it in South Georgia.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Georgia

OK, the above question..... Why?

To me it seems the ole South is dead. Georgia is much like Florida. Very few natives and mostly transplants, at least in the Atlanta area.

So for all you posters here. Are you Georgia natives? If not, where? And how long in GA?

Me, I'm a native West "By God" Virginia native and have lived in, thanks to my job transfers:

New Jersey 2times
Virginia 2 times
Illinois
Maryland
Tennessee
and Georgia since 2004.

Georgia Native

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Janet D. Patrick

I'm a native! My parents met here in Alanta while in highschool together (Roosevelt High which has since been turned into condos) and they still live in the house I grew up in over in Norcross.

;-)

My mother graduated from Roosevelt High. My father graduated from O'Keefe High.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Prichard

Most of Georgia is inhabited by native Georgians. If you exclude the Atlanta area and some areas along the I-75 corridor, you will find that most people's families go back for many generations. Even in the Northern part of the Atlanta area, most people are native Georgians.

I think the transplants just stick out more, so you tend to notice them. I think Florida has way more transplants than Georgia or North Carolina. It's just that y'all aren't used to it.

Perhaps five years ago, data from the US Census revealed that approximately 48% of metro Atlantans were native Georgians, and around 70% were native southerners, including Georgia or nearby states, such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama.

Transplants aren't evenly spread throughout the metro area. In some locations, you'll find high percentages of native Georgians, particularly in some inner-ring suburbs where roots have been laid down. Areas that come to mind include Lilburn, Mableton, Smyrna, and Marietta. Others have transformed with changing demographics and therefore have fewer native Georgians. However, there are also a lot of native Georgians living in farther out suburban areas. Places like McDonough, Fayetteville, Newnan, Canton, Douglasville, Kennesaw, Hiram, Dallas, and Stockbridge (over 60% Georgia native) come to mind. On the other hand, some outer areas actually have low percentages of Georgia natives, including Roswell, Alpharetta, John's Creek, and Peachtree City. (30-40% Georgia native, on average).